Desperate Acquaintances
by linkinparkh2over
Summary: Kory and Richard, sworn enemies, like to keep their distance. What would be minor disagreements easily turn into a Princess vs. Playboy throwdown.But when danger threatens them both, can they overcome their differences and work together to stay alive? RxK
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, so I JUST finished Unbearable Pain, and it's like a weight off my shoulders, lemme tell ya! But before I do anything with the sequel that I've promised my readers, I really want to get back to my Desperate Acquaintances story; it got deleted because I had answered reviewers in it before they made it all illegal and whatnot and then I hadn't changed it before someone reported me. **

**But that's okay, because even though I had gotten a new computer and lost all my chapters, thereby forcing myself to start it all over, I didn't get nearly as discouraged as you might have thought : **

**I've resolved to make it way better than before, I've already written out the plotline for what I want to happen in the first twenty chapters : so I should be writing one chapter every couple of days, or so I hope, and posting them one or two days after I write them, (my writing's way better when I leave it for a couple days and then come back and read it again to change things around), and that also means that I should be updating sooner; yay! **

**But, anyway, I'm really excited about this story! So, without further ado; **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Teen Titans. **

**This story is dedicated to my dear old friend Cyd, aka, WolfBlackHayate, to whom I haven't talked in a very long time and who I miss terribly. And…I hope she reads this to KNOW that I dedicated it to her, haha. **

The sun setting behind him elongated his shadow until it looked like a long-legged boy with a short, stubby torso. It reminded him of someone walking on stilts; and he had a brief flashback of a white and red striped tent and thousands of eager faces before he shook his head to clear the thought.

He couldn't allow himself to get sidetracked; it would take all the strength in his short little body to finish the task at hand. Frowning slightly, he picked up the pace a little as he walked down the driveway of the huge mansion he lived in.

It was a very beautiful place, really, Wayne Manor. Even in the rich, snooty neighborhood it stood out like a sore thumb. But sticking out wasn't hard for the mansion when its width alone was that of three houses that were themselves considered upscale and very large in the way of houses.

Both the front and backyards of the manor resembled small parks; walking by, you were just able to make out a garage that looked as if it could hold about 20 vehicles behind a magnificent marble fountain down which water that was always kept a turquoise-y blue color cascaded. There was never any grime or residue on the fountain, either; it always looked as if it was just installed yesterday. The sweeping willow trees and patches of green grass were always kept prim and neat. On the biggest and most spectacular of the numerous lawns, right in front of the fountain, rows and rows of bright red carnations spelt out the letters 'W' and 'M' intertwined, with yellow daisies outlining the edges of both letters. The driveway never held any traces of oil stains, and any fallen leaves and twigs were cleared away twice daily by the gardening staff.

This little piece of heaven, formerly known as Wayne Manor, was kept behind golden gates that were always shut; the only way of entrance was to be buzzed in from inside the house, and guards stationed inside of the gates were trained to stop any trespasser immediately. They had not yet failed.

Yes, Wayne Manor was a beautiful place to live, but even with all of the wondrous rooms it held, and countless servants there to wait on your every beck and call; it was easy for a young boy of 11 to get bored.

Richard Grayson, the adopted son of Bruce Wayne and heir to Wayne Enterprises was the only young person residing in Wayne Manor. In fact, he was basically the only young person to live in his neighborhood. It was very boring for him when he wasn't in school. His two best friends, Roy Harper and Garfield Logan had begun to make frequent visits, but in the summer they both went away on family vacations, and since Bruce was constantly on business meetings and trips, poor little Richard was left alone in the house with no one to entertain him.

Luckily for him, however, beginning last summer, the second most spectacular house in the neighborhood was occupied by a family of five with three kids, all around the same age as himself. This was not just any family, however, it was a _royal _family.

They came from a small island called Tameran in the region of the Bahamas that hardly anyone knew about. Mr. and Mrs. Anders were King and Queen; rulers of Tameran. They were both very nice people who had become acquainted with Bruce Wayne in a business deal, and had three children that Richard loved to play with during the summer.

The eldest was Koma Anders. She was only two years and a half years older than Richard, but she was often given the chore of looking after Richard and her two younger siblings as they went to the park to play or walked around the neighborhood on the warm summer evenings. She had long black hair and was very pretty. She was definitely a tomboy; she would often participate in 'swordfights' that Richard and Ryan had with sticks found on the ground or in the street. She was usually nice to Richard, sometimes she was a little too nice and it seemed like she had a crush on him, but other times she wasn't nice at all, and it often seemed as if she was jealous of her other siblings, especially her sister.

Ryan was the second oldest. He was about a year older than Richard, give or take a few months. He was quick-witted and loved to do anything that proved he was masculine. He didn't want to be king, however, and secretly hoped that his parents wouldn't choose him to take the throne, for in his country the throne wasn't given away simply because of gender or age; the King and Queen were allowed to evaluate their children and choose whomever they wished to succeed them in ruling the country. Two people besides Ryan knew of his guilty secret; and one was Richard. Ryan had blonde hair, and was very cute. With blonde hair and blue eyes, he certainly looked the part of the prince charming; he and Richard made quite a pair.

The youngest sibling was Korina Anders, Kory for short. Even though Ryan and Richard were close, Kory was by far Richard's favorite of the Anders. She was the most beautiful and exotic girl Richard had ever seen, and although he hadn't seen many women in the span of his 11 years on earth, he knew he had seen enough to know that she was the only girl he'd ever like as much as he liked her. She was tall for her age, about an inch and a half taller than Richard, (which he loathed), and she had beautiful, soft, flaming red hair that cascaded down her back in perfect curls. When she laughed, which happened to be often, the curls bounced and danced around her face like joyous flames. Due to the perfect tanning conditions on her island, she had a radiant orange-ish glow that could never be reached by any tanning salon or spray on tan product.

Kory was very easy to talk to. She had a certain charm about her that never failed to enchant anyone who met her. No one in their right minds could ever dislike Kory. Although she never was short with Koma as Koma often was with Kory, the differences between the two sisters seemed to have made them distant with each other. Or, Richard reasoned, it could just be Koma distancing herself from everyone around her like she usually did. Even Ryan wasn't that close to her; he much rather preferred Kory, and was very overprotective of her. (Kory was the other person that knew Ryan's dirty little secret).

But the thing Richard liked most about Kory, besides her laugh, her smile, her singsong voice, her skin, her hair, and her killer personality, was her eyes. They were a bright, ever-curious shade of emerald that could melt a heart in a moment. Every emotion she felt was displayed directly through her eyes, and Richard could always tell what was on her mind by looking into those green crystal orbs that seemed to call his name.

Sadly, he'd have to wait nine more months, the better part of a year, before he could hear them call him again. The royal family was leaving early the next morning, and young Richard was on his way to say good-bye to everyone. The family loved him, and he was always welcome at their urban palace. Dusk spread its arms about the sky when he finally reached the Anders residence. It, too, was a beautiful place that stood out from its surroundings.

Hidden behind rustic bronze gates, the Anders' summer mansion had a much more bucolic feel to it than the glamour that was Wayne Manor. Although the two places were exceedingly different, both were equally beautiful in their own ways. Once you got past the guards and the gates, in order to get to the house, you had to follow a path that led you through a many weeping willow trees, beautifully overgrown and eerily mesmerizing, over many ponds inhabited with frogs and fish, and through numerous patches of wildflowers. Although the yard was certainly overgrown and inhabited with countless species of flowers and trees and small creatures, it was anything but shabby. It too was clean, though not the scrubbed clean of Wayne Manor. Walking through the trees and shrubbery that hid the Victorian style house, you got the feeling that every leaf and twig had its special place in the yard. Nothing ever looked out of place or dirty. The ponds were never murky, the flowers never battered by weeds.

It was hauntingly perfect, strikingly handsome.

Although darkness was falling, the young boy was immediately granted admittance and knew the path by heart, and he reached the house in a matter of minutes. Walking up to the large oak front doors, he took a deep breath to steady himself and attempted to summon all the courage he had in his tiny body before using the large brass knocker to make his presence known.

After what seemed like the longest 15 seconds of his life, the main butler, Roderick, answered the door. As if he was expected, Richard was ushered in without a moment's hesitation, and Roderick turned to address him.

"Hello, Mr. Grayson; the royal family was expecting a farewell visit from you sometime tonight. Allow me to show you to master Ryan's room, although I daresay you know the way yourself by now…" The butler didn't smile, but Richard detected a certain twinkle in his eyes that told him the old butler wasn't at all unhappy to see him.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could see Kory first…" Richard glanced up to catch a surprised look on the butlers face, followed by the faintest trace of a knowing grin before Roderick managed to regain his composure.

Feeling as if he ought to say something; give an excuse for wanting to see Kory first, he said, "you know…starting with the youngest and working my way up to the…to the oldest…got to have an order…you know…"

Mentally kicking himself, Richard decided that it would have been better if he just hadn't spoken at all.

"Very well, Mr. Grayson, however I fear that your 'order of doing things', as you so adequately put it, will have to be the slightest bit altered; you see, the young princess has just gotten into the bath, and won't be out for some time, I'm afraid. She does enjoy the pink perfume bubbles we have so recently acquired for her."

Thankfully, Richard's mind was still a little too young for dirty thoughts. Wondering what he should do now, Richard had just opened his mouth to speak when he heard a squeal from the doorway to his right, which led into the third dining room of the house. It was used on Tuesday nights and Friday mornings.

Half-hoping it was Kory who had emitted the sound of excitement, Richard had only a second's notice before an excited Koma crushed him with one of the Anders' famously killer hugs.

"I'm so glad you came! We thought you wouldn't remember that we were leaving…I just told Kory to go take a bath and try and relax because she was all antsy and worried you would forget; but I knew you'd come." Said Koma, finally releasing Richard and showing him a sly grin.

Roderick, sensing his presence no longer needed, bowed himself out of the room.

"Of course! I couldn't let my favorite family leave without saying good-bye." Said Richard, grinning up at Koma.

"I knew it. I knew you'd come…you never let me down Richard. Come on; let's go get Ryan and we can all take a walk down to the park-"said Koma, but Richard, now frowning, cut her off.

"Can't we wait for Kory? I…There's something I really needed to talk to her about before she left…it's really important, Koma." Said Richard.

"Well, she has an early bedtime tonight; she absolutely hates airplanes, and my parents want her to be as relaxed as possible when we get on the flight, which means she has to be well-rested, well-fed, and clean. Her three favorite feelings in the world." Koma added that last part with a grin and a roll of her eyes.

Richard squirmed. What if he didn't get to see Kory at all? She had to know…he had to tell her how he felt about her.

"Well…it's really important, Koma…" Reaching into his shorts pocket, Richard pulled out a very old, very handsome silver locket. Though slightly tarnished, it still held every ounce of mystery and entrancing beauty that it must have held when it was first made. Koma gasped.

"It…It's beautiful! And you…you want to give this to Kory, do you?" Koma said, masking the resentment in her voice with a falsely cheery voice. Richard didn't catch it.

"Yes, it was my mother's, and I want her to have it…" Richard took a deep breath before mumbling, "I wanted to tell Kory that I like her more than I've liked any other girl in my life."

Koma tried not to look completely crestfallen when she uttered a dull, "Oh…"

Thankfully, Richard was too relieved at finally revealing his true feelings to notice the positive feeling of disappointment that was radiating at an exponential amount from Koma as the conversation wore on.

"Well, I'm going to go to Ryan's room and say good-bye. If Kory gets out of her bath in time for her to visit me, could you please tell her that I'd like to see her very much? And, Koma…could you please give this to her for me…i-in case I don't get to see her?" Richard asked, slightly abashed. His hand shook slightly as he put the locket into Koma's outstretched hand.

By this time, Koma had managed to regain her carefree composure and said, "Sure" giving him a light peck on the cheek in what she hoped was a sisterly fashion before leaving the room with a quick good-bye called over the shoulder.

KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM KOMAS ROOM

Koma threw the locket on the bed before rushing over to her vanity mirror and sitting down. Slamming her fist down on the make-up table, she used her other hand to knock the shelves of make up and nail polish off of the table. The resounding crash reaching her ears wasn't half as soothing as she had thought it would be. It actually made her feel worse. Now she not only had a broken heart, but many broken bottles littering her bedroom floor. Sinking down onto the end of her bed, she put her head in her hands and emitted a couple of dry sobs.

Whipping around, she grabbed the locket and wrenched it open, revealing a picture of Richard on the left side, and a picture of Kory on the right side. Inside was a small piece of paper folded up. Scribbled in little boy writing was the short, but meaningful, inscription, _Kory, you'll always be **right **inside my heart. Love, Dick._

Giving a small, humorless laugh, Koma wadded the paper back up and stuck it in the locket, closing it and throwing it away from her. Feeling the furious tears well up in her eyes, she allowed resentful thoughts to consume her head.

_That locket was supposed to be for me! I'm the oldest, why does Kory always get everything? Everyone loves poor, precious Kory. She's so beautiful and charming. She's everyone's favorite. Ryan trusts her more than me. Our parents have favored the two of them since birth. They tried everything out on me, I was the trial kid. Now they know what mistakes not to make. It's so unfair! _

_And now Richard likes her! He's so cute, and nice, and funny. He's the perfect guy, he's MY dream guy! Why does KORY get him? She's such a little brat; she has everyone fooled but me. I see straight through her little innocent, naive act. I hate her. I hate everything about her. What is there to like? All she has is brains…and beauty…and is talented at everything, and- _

A knock on her door brought Koma out of her little rant. Throwing a pillow on top of the broken things in a childish attempt to hide her mess, she called, "What do you want?"

In waddled little Kory, barely ten years old. She was clad in a pink silk nightgown with furry pink slippers, and was currently brushing her went hair so that it would dry straight. She was very lucky; her hair wasn't straight and lanky like Koma's was. It could be curly, wavy, or stick straight. It was thick and healthy, and still soft to the touch; Koma noticed this almost every day, and was exceedingly envious of it.

"Koma, I was just wondering if Dick happened to…" Kory's voice trailed off when she looked at her sister. "Komand'r, are you alright?"

"Don't call me Komand'r, or I'll start calling you Korina!" Snapped Koma.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Koma. I was merely inquiring as to whether you were feeling alright or not, you looked upset. I see that I am of no help, I will make my departure now…" Kory turned to leave, making Koma feel guilty as only Kory could. Deep down, she really and truly loved her baby sister, but years and years of feeling inferior to Kory made this feeling hard for Koma to reach.

"Kory, wait. Richard did come by." Koma sighed, dropping once more onto her bed, "and I'm sorry for snapping at you."

Kory's face went from jubilant to crestfallen in about two seconds.

"Oh..So I missed him?" Kory asked, her bottom lip already trembling.

Koma patted the bed beside her. "Come, sit. Yes, you did miss him, but he said that once you got out of the bath he wanted you to go over and see him. I'm sure mummy and daddy will let you; they know you'd want to say good-bye." _And they always have a hard time saying no to you._ She added that last part only in her mind. It was not the time to play the jealous sister card; right now she had to act as normal as possible.

Kory perked up and brushed her hair even faster. Standing up, she made for her dash out of the room. "Ooh, well then I'd better hurry up and-"

"Wait. Kory. There's more." Said Koma seriously, as if she was about to drop a bombshell.

Instantly sobered, Kory walked back to sit down beside Koma on her bed, laying her brush down beside her and folding her hands carefully in her lap. She lightly bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows, looking curiously up at Koma. Koma knew this expression well; Kory always looked like that whenever Koma was about to tell her something bad. Koma inwardly smirked, but was as serious as could be on the outside.

"Richard told me…things. I'm not so sure you should go over there, Kory." Said Koma.

"What kind of things did he tell you?" Kory spoke the words quietly, carefully chosen and well thought out.

"He told me…that he thinks you're really annoying. And also that you're snobbish. He insisted that you had buckteeth and that you're skin is really oily. He thinks that you need to stop tagging along with him, Ryan, and myself. He just thinks…Kory…he doesn't like you." Koma said this as if it pained her to allow Kory to hear such hurtful words. She was a great actress, and was experienced at deceiving Kory with only a few words. She knew she had successfully hurt Kory's feelings even before the tears began to fall.

"Thank you for telling me, Koma. I love you. Goodnight." With that, Kory swept out of the room, leaving a wave of sadness behind her.

Koma waited a full ten seconds pass by after Kory had shut the door before collapsing in a fit of gleeful laughter at the familiar feeling of a good payback.

KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM KORYS ROOM

Kory tied the end of the ribbons she had braided into her hair around the long French braid before turning her swollen eyes once more to the mirror in her room. A sigh escaped from her lips as she tucked a few loose strands of hair that had fallen out of the braid behind her ear. Although she didn't realize it; she was really very beautiful. Even at age 10, it was obvious that she would be one of the most beautiful girls on the island of Tameran, if not the most beautiful.

Kory wiped her tearstained cheeks with her small hands, and slowly her pained expression turned into a frown. Pulling on her sweatshirt over her pajamas and slipping out of her bunny slippers and into a pair of flip flops, she wandered down the hall. She ran into Ryan on his way to the bathroom.

"Kory, what's wrong?" asked Ryan concernedly, grabbing her shoulders.

"It's nothing, Ryan, I'll be okay. I'm going to take a walk, okay? I'll be back in about 20 minutes." Standing on her tiptoes to give her brother a kiss, she freed herself from his grasp and walked past him.

"Hey, wait." Called Ryan, halting Kory momentarily. "Want me to come with you?"

"No…no, thank you, Ryan. I'll be fine, I promise." She gave him a watery smile, and continued down the hall. Five minutes later, she found herself outside of Wayne Manor. She had run the whole way and was out of breath, but she was determined to complete the task ahead of her before bedtime. She knocked frantically on the door until the Wayne's butler, Alfred, answered the door.

Surprised at her presence, Alfred stepped obediently aside to let her enter.

"Who is it, Alfred?" called the deep voice of Bruce Wayne from the other room. Kory knew that voice well; she had heard it almost every day for the past two summers; he had grown very fond of the young girl, and always managed to let her know that she would be forever welcome at Wayne Manor.

"It's Princess Korina, calling on Master Richard, no doubt." Called Alfred, giving Kory a small wink.

"Thanks, Alfred, but please, call me Kory." Kory said, smiling up at the tall butler. He bowed to her and left the room, just as Bruce entered it.

"Ahh, my favorite little redhead of a princess! How are you?" He bent down and she ran to him and gave him a hug. Bruce was usually never this…joyful…but Kory was known to bring out the best in people.

"Mr. Wayne, I'm the only little redhead of a princess you know, of course I'm your favorite!" Kory gave her tinkling laugh that set hearts on fire before she continued, "I'm doing just fine, thank you Mr. Wayne."

"You're very welcome, young lady" he said, inclining his head slightly. He stood up and took her hand, leading her to the grand staircase. "Allow me to escort you to Richard's room. He told me he hadn't had the chance to talk to you; he insisted that you would come tonight because he had something unbearably important to tell you."

"Yes, I received the message. I've come to discuss it with him." Her dull tone was observed by Bruce, but he made no comment.

Instead, he continued up the staircase and down the maze of halls, to Richard's bedroom. Once they arrived at their destination, Bruce knocked three times hard on the door, gave Kory a little pat on the head and an encouraging smile, and continued down the hall and around the corner. Once he was out of sight, Kory let the smile drop from her lips, and a spiritless expression possessed her face once more. Richard opened the door and grinned at Kory, stepping aside to let her in. He allowed the grin to falter only a little when it wasn't returned.

"Kory, is something wrong?" Richard asked.

"Koma told me everything, Dick." Kory said quietly. The usual gleam in her eyes was absent. Looking deep into the swirling pools of green, he read the expression; it was one of hurt, betrayal, and disgust.

"Oh…I had hoped that she would only…I wanted to tell you myself." Said Richard, sitting down on his bed.

"Well, I'm glad she told me. I'm glad I heard it from her instead of you." Richard looked up at the harshness of her words. Why was she being like this?

"Does what I've said…bother you?" Richard asked.

"Of course it does!" Snapped Kory, turning away from him. "How could you think it wouldn't?"

"I just…I thought you'd understand." Said Richard. His anger was competing with sadness; he wasn't sure which one he was feeling more at the moment.

"I understand perfectly clear. Obviously, I won't be coming back next year, not after this!" Said Kory. Richard decided that anger was winning.

"What do you mean you won't be coming back? You were bothered that much by what I said? It's only the truth!" Richard stood up, clenching his fists.

"Richard, that's horrible! I don't care if it's the truth or not, it's all horrible! This changes everything! I can't believe you've felt like this all along; how could you? I never had the slightest clue!" Kory was fighting back tears.

Richard was about to retort before he realized that Kory had called him Richard. She never called him Richard. She called him Dick from the moment they met; and she was the only one who was allowed to call him by his nickname. He liked the way she said it, but from everyone else it just sounded like an insult.

"If I knew it would change things this much…Fine! Go back! And stay in your little palace; see if I care. It's better if you're not here, anyway. I can have even more fun with Ryan and Koma without you tagging along behind us every step of the way!" Richard exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

At these words, Kory found that she could no longer keep in the tears. They poured freely from her eyes, and she rushed forward and shoved him hard. He fell on his butt, and looked up at her. Time seemed to freeze in that moment as he looked up at the only girl he would ever love.

Her tear-stained face was flawless; her hair, pulled back in a hastily but still beautifully braided French braid, was gorgeous. He wanted to reach out and wipe the tears right off her face; tuck the strands of hair that had fallen out of the braid on both sides of her face behind her ears. For the first time in his young life, he felt an immeasurable attraction to a girl. He knew at this moment, that no other girl in his life would ever be able to affect him like Kory.

Yes, crushes were possible. But he could never love anyone like he loved Kory. He lived every summer day to see her; in school, when he was having a rough time, he thought of her and just the memory of her laughing beside him was enough to make him happy the whole rest of the day.

And yet, he decided that never again would he ever let someone get this close to him; it was only setting himself up for defeat. Kory Anders was the last girl who would ever cast a spell on him; no one would ever get close to him again.

And all at once, just as he felt the hardening of his heart begin to take course, time decided to catch up with itself again. She was gone. She had turn on her heel and ran out the door without another word, and he would never see her again.

And, he tried to convince himself by repeating the words in his mind over and over, he was happy about it.

KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY KORY

Poor young Kory ran all the way back home, sobbing. She managed to stifle her sobs as she slipped in the front door, using the house key that her mother had entrusted her with. Silently making her way to her room, she stopped to check if her family was asleep.

She heard her dad's snored and her mom's quiet cooing and decided that they were both well on their way to dreamland.

Outside of Ryan's room, she pressed her ear to the door and heard nothing. He was probably asleep as well; thank God he hadn't waited up for her.

Koma, however, was laughing. Kory was a bit perplexed, but she didn't stop to think about it. She felt another fit of sobs washing over her, and only when she reached her room would she be safe out of earshot and able to cry.

After almost an hour, after the latest set of sobs had been let out, Kory sat, curled up in a ball on her bed, still wearing her sweater although it was not at all cold. Getting up out of the bed, she walked over to one of her large windows; the one overlooking the west side of the neighborhood.

Silent tears still running down her cheeks, she opened the latch of the window and leaned out of it, closing her eyes and enjoying the breeze as it tickled her face. She pulled herself back inside and hastily took her hair down, returning to the previous position in order to feel the wind in her hair.

It was then that she decided that as much as she loved this place; as much as she loved the people in America and their stories of superheroes; as much as she loved getting away from Tameran every summer, she could never come back to this house.

She wouldn't let herself. In the morning, on the plane, when her mother was holding her tight and her father was sitting close beside them both, telling them stories in order to calm down his little Korina, (Ryan would most likely be sitting on his lap, while Koma sat alone grumpily in the seat in front of them, listening to music and flipping through a magazine), she would tell them that she couldn't go back.

She would tell them when she knew they considered her most vulnerable, and they wouldn't prod too much. They'd accept it, and decide what to do about it a couple of days later, after they were all settled back into the palace at Tameran.

Maybe they'd appeal to her in a week or so, but she'd stand her ground. She simply did not want to go back to that house, and that would be that.

If only young Kory knew that she'd very soon be returning to the house and that as much as she didn't want to see Richard ever again, he would very soon become a very large part of her life, and she of his.

If only she knew that she would soon have to depend on Richard to help her save both of their lives, and that for a time tragedy would kick her when she was already down.

But if she had already known all this, she would have her own show on Disney Channel called That's So Kory, as she would be able to tell the future; and this would be a very boring and quite pointless story, and I wouldn't be telling it. So, I suppose, we must all count our blessings. And Richard and Kory never again meeting is not one of those blessings that we will be counting.

**So, what did you think? OH MY GOSH that felt so good to finally write! I wrote out the whole plotline, and all the details just came to me; I'm so excited! 12 pages on word, not bad, huh? NOW REVIEW, PLEASE!! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Right back into it; not as many reviews as I would have hoped, but with updates come new readers, so here it is! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans…nor do I own Bobo the Clown. **

_Tears streamed down her cheeks as the girl of 12 ran out of the room; this could not be happening! Ignoring the sounds of her parents' and brothers' pleas for her return, she threw open the doors leading to the exterior of her palace and flew down the marble steps faster than she had done in a long time. She broke into a brisk jog when she reached the outside of the gates shielding her from the outside world. She was an extremely well-loved Tameran princess; she couldn't let her people see her in distress! Clutching the large golden bars, one in each hand, she let her head rest lightly on one of the bars in between and gave a tremendous sigh. _

_It took a couple of minutes for her to regain her composure and to stem the steady flow of tears, but she finally succeeded. Checking behind her to make sure no one had followed her, she pulled the gate towards her about a foot and slipped out of the palace grounds. _

_Walking in the direction of her second favorite place in the world, she subconsciously pulled her beautiful auburn locks up into a messy bun, tucking the strands that fell out behind her ears to keep them out of her face. Although she wasn't wearing her tiara, she was wearing one of the necklaces bearing the family's royal crest. Not wanting to call attention to herself, she tucked it into her shirt and walked with her head down, speeding up a little. _

_As she neared her destination, it the air began to dance around her a little faster, a little colder. Crossing her arms in front of her and rubbing her hands vigorously from her shoulders to her elbows didn't warm her up as she had hoped it would, and she began to wish she had grabbed her favorite green sweater before heading out to clear her head. The air began to tickle her nose with the scent of salt, and she knew she was almost there. _

_When she finally reached the sandy dunes of the beach, she sighed happily and sat down close to the water, kicking off her shoes and digging her feet deep into the soft ground. It wasn't wet, but it was a little damp and very cool, just how she liked it. Wiggling her toes beneath the sand, she closed her eyes and laid back. Cracking her eyes just a bit, she glimpsed the sky just long enough to ascertain that night would soon be upon her; the sun had sunken almost all the way beneath the hilly region on the west side of the island. She had a good forty five minutes before she had to head home. _

_She had only been lying there for five minutes when she heard the footsteps beside her. _

_"I thought you might need this," said a deepening voice that she knew well. _

_Smiling, she opened her eyes and sat up. He was holding her favorite sweater in his left hand and a small backpack adorned his well-sculpted back. _

_"Ryan, you followed me?" Kory asked her brother, uncertain if she should be grateful or annoyed. _

_"No." Ryan said with a smirk. He kneeled behind her and put the sweater around her shoulders. Once his hands were free, he crawled on his hands and knees to right beside her and plopped down, facing her. Kory raised her eyebrow. _

_"So, you just miraculously turn up at the same place I'm in just minutes before I arrived?" She wasn't annoyed. Amusement danced in her eyes. Her brother was more often than not her best friend in the palace, her protector, her confidant. _

_Ryan laughed at his sister's skeptical look. He now opened the backpack and got back up. _

_"Wait, don't leave..." Kory said, slightly panicked. At first she had wanted to be alone, but her brother always knew just how to make everything better. Ryan looked quizzically down at her, and then grinned. _

_"Leave? Now? The party's just starting; we're about to exchange thoughts, since something is quite obviously on your mind." Ryan laughed. Out of the backpack he pulled a fleece blanket and sat on it, patting the spot beside him and looking out towards the sea. Kory giggled and squirmed out from under the sand, zipping up her sweater and running over to him. _

_She lie down beside him and put her head on his thigh, grinning up at him and sticking out her tongue. He stuck his out in return and then laughingly reached back into the backpack. He pulled out two thermoses and a paper towel wrapped around something. _

_Kory gave him a puzzled look and he said "Cookies and Milk." Kory sat up and squealed as he handed her a thermos and a cookie. _

_"So, how did you know where I was, if you didn't follow me?" Asked Kory thickly, through a mouthful of chocolate chip cookie. Ryan reached back in the backpack once more, drawing out a second blanket and throwing it around the shivering Kory before answering. She beamed at him. _

_"Well, let's see. Um, you ran out of the room crying, heading in the direction of the front door; now what kind of big brother would I be if I didn't know where all your special places were for when you needed to clear your head? And since you didn't run to the passage leading to the roof, I figured this is the second place on your list of 'favorite thinking spots'. I just automatically went and grabbed your jacket and a couple blankets; it wasn't until I passed the kitchen on my way out and smelled the freshly baked cookies that I decided a little snack wouldn't hurt." Ryan finished his last sentence with a wink and bit into his own, fairly warm chocolate chip cookie. _

_They finished their cookies in silence, and it wasn't until Kory had reached for her third and Ryan for his fourth that he brought up the reason he had come. _

_"So, Kor, what's on your mind?" Ryan asked, taking a bite of his cookie and being as casual as possible. She didn't answer at first. But he could tell she wasn't ignoring him; she was deciding whether or not to tell him the truth. He smiled inwardly. It was amazing how easily he read his baby sister, and how hard he tried NOT to read his older one. _

_"I don't want to go back, Ryan." She said. He could tell by the slow, careful way she spoke that she was telling the truth. He was glad that she felt she could trust him. _

_"Why not, Kor? You used to love America until you randomly decided you wouldn't go back…what happened?" asked Ryan. He was fairly puzzled; he had thought she was just homesick at first, but for the last two years she grew tense whenever America was brought up, and refused to talk about it. Clearly, something was bothering her. _

_"Dick." Ryan's eyes bulged momentarily before he realized, (with a rush of relief), that she was talking about Dick the person. _

_"Richard? What about him? I thought we were all great friends…" _

_"So did I…until…" Kory took a couple deep breaths and launched into the story. When she was finished, she looked away, a little bit ashamed. When she next chanced a glance at Ryan, he was staring thoughtfully out into the sea. He turned to her, quite abruptly, and emitted a loud, high-pitched beeping sound- _

'BEEP' 'BEEP' 'BEEP'

Groaning, Kory rolled over and shoved her hand down on the off button on the alarm clock. Koma threw open the door to Kory's room and pulled open the curtains. The sun shone in brightly, jarring Kory out of the semi-conscious state she had been in.

"Kory, your alarm clock has been going off for two whole minutes, wake up!" In response, Kory rolled over onto her stomach and put the pillow over her head.

Ryan ran in the room, surveyed the scene, and laughed heartily. "Koma, leave the girl alone. Why are you awake, anyway; your first class doesn't start till noon!"

Koma threw her arms up in exasperations, screaming, "I know! But Kory's alarm clock woke me up because she won't shut the stupid thing off and get up!"

With that, Kory sat up and said in a honeyed tone "Well, Koma, perhaps if you slept in one of the other rooms in the house, we wouldn't have this problem; surely there are plenty to choose from."

Koma sped from the room, shoving Ryan out of her way, who winked at Kory and said "Get up Kor; I'll drive you to school today." Heaving an overly exaggerated sigh, Kory rolled out of bed and stretched her hands to the sky, simultaneously yawning. Ryan left to finish breakfast.

Kory walked to the bathroom in her room, turning on the shower and letting the water run so it would get hot. She then approached her walk-in closet, inspecting the aisles carefully until she found an outfit she liked. She chose a tan tank top, red Hollister long-sleeve shirt, jeans, brown flip flops, and a crème-colored South Pole sweater with red, brown, and tan writing that tied it all together quite nicely. Laying the clothes on her bed, she got into the now hot shower, emerging five minutes later.

She always took a shower at night that was about twenty minutes long; to relieve stress and shave and whatnot. But when she woke up in the morning she still felt grimy, and more often than not, (unless she was running extremely late), took a quick shower in the morning as well.

She decided to blow-dry her hair straight today, and after that was finished; she put on her clothes, looking herself over in her full-length mirror. Unhappy with the look, she switched her flip-flops for white and crème Nike's, preferring the look the closed shoes gave the outfit.

She then sat down at her vanity mirror and put on large gold "bamboo" style hoops. She quickly applied brown eyeliner and clear lip-gloss; she hardly ever wore make up. She simply didn't need it.

Happy with the way she looked, she left the room, making her way down to the kitchen. She found Ryan sitting on the counter, holding an apple and her backpack. He always was so patient with her. He threw her the apple before jumping down off the counter with her backpack. He carried it to the car for her and put it in the back seat.

Although Kory had just turned sixteen, she had no desire to get her drivers' permit; she had bombed the driver's ed. class and was terrified of the road. So Ryan usually drove her anywhere she needed to go.

"I had that stupid dream again, Ry." Said Kory, biting into her apple.

"Which dream, the one where Koma decides to move out and gets a dorm of her own?" Asked Ryan with mock hopefulness, "Cause that's not stupid, Kory, it's amazing. And it's not a dream, either; technically, one would call it a 'fantasy' – a 'wish', if you will." Kory giggled.

"No, silly. That dream about that time at the beach four years ago, remember? The night Mom and Dad told us they wanted us to move out back out to America to finish our high school and college education in better schools?" Said Kory, frowning at nothing in particular out of the window.

"Oh, yeah. You've been having that dream again? I told you, Kor, I think it would do you some good to talk to Rich-"tried Ryan, but Kory cut him off.

"Ryan, I've already made it quite clear that I don't want to talk to him. He's even worse now, with his stupid girlfriend and his playboy reputation. He's convinced he's the hottest thing to walk the face of the earth. It's repulsive, Ryan, really it is." Said Kory, wrinkling her nose pointedly.

"That's just absurd, Kory. Everyone knows that _I'm_ the hottest thing to walk the face of the earth!" Ryan laughed, pulling into the drop-off section of the school parking lot. Kory giggled again, hitting Ryan softly on the arm and rolling her eyes.

"Thanks for the ride, Ry. Listen, I'm meeting Xavier after cheer practice, so-" said Kory, but it was her turn to get cut off.

"Ugh, not that guy again. I thought you guys were finally through!" Said Ryan. He didn't like the guy at all. Quite frankly, he wasn't good enough to lick the scum off of Kory's shoe, let alone lick…er…date her. (Ryan took a few seconds of slow, deep breathing to calm himself down).

"No, we made up. I really wish you guys would get along, he's really not that bad of a-"

"Kory. I don't like him. End of story." Said Ryan. He saw Kory wince from his sharp tone and pulled her into a hug. "I just don't think he's good enough, but I guess I'll never think anyone's good enough for my baby sister."

Even as he said it, he knew the words weren't entirely true. Richard, his best friend, was good enough for Kory. But the two hated each other more than Koma hated kittens, and flowers…and all things happy, for that matter, and they refused to talk to each other about why they hated each other, which made matters worse. Ryan was sure that if they all just sat down and talked, they would realize it was all just a big misunderstanding. Shaking his head at his own thoughts, he gave Kory a quick kiss on the top of the head and let her go.

"Bye, Ryan!" Kory called as she ran across the grass to meet Rachel, her best friend. Ryan gave a quick wave to Rachel as he got back into his car and drove to the junior parking lot.

"Hi Rachel!" Kory panted when she reached her best friend. Rachel was like a sister to Kory, and vice versa. The two were total opposites, but they had clicked almost immediately when Kory moved out to Jump City in seventh grade. Now the two were sophomores, and basically inseparable. In the way of looks, Rachel wasn't absolutely stunning, but she was very pretty. She had very pale skin, and dark black hair that was, honest to God, violet in the sun. Her eyes were a deep, deep shade of violet, and more often than not reflected skepticism, as well as deep thought. Rachel had never properly learned to show her emotions, and was picked on quite usually. That is, until Kory came along. The two immediately rose to fame within the school; they needed each other. Kory needed things explained to her, and Rachel needed a real friend.

Kory was the most popular girl in school: she had it all. Fame, fortune, she was absolutely gorgeous-and royalty in another country! Without Rachel there to take care of her, Kory would have been thoroughly manipulated by those who befriended her simply because she was famous. Rachel was there to make sure everything with Kory was alright; she was like Ryan's double.

"Hey, Kory." Rachel said, quite emotionless as the two made their way to the school's main entrance.

"Hi Kory!"

"Hey, Kor, lookin' good!"

"Hey Kory."

"Sup, Kory!"

These random words of greeting were to be expected. If Kory said the sky was purple, it would be made law within the school. Her contagious happiness and wondrous charm infiltrated the school almost the minute she had arrived.

Kory had just stopped responding to them; she always felt so foolish belting out hello after hello. So she just waved and smiled, and the crowd seemed to be pacified.

Just as Kory crossed the threshold of the main entrance, she felt a pair of familiarly muscled arms encircle themselves around her slim waist; a small kiss was planted on her cheek.

Rachel groaned.

"I see she hasn't dumped you, yet." She spat. She hated Xavier, too.

"Rache-"started Kory, warningly.

"I see you haven't gotten a personality, yet." Retorted Xavier.

"Xavi-"chimed in a frustrated Kory.

"Nope. K-Mart was fresh out. See you in biology, Kory." With that, Rachel sped up in front of them and was soon engulfed by the crowd. Kory sighed.

"I really wish-"started Kory, but apparently, it was 'everybody interrupt Kory' day.

"We're not going to get along. Ever. End of story. She's a freak; I don't understand why you hang out with her." Xavier said, leaning in for kiss. Kory pushed him away.

"Xavier, please do not call my best friend a 'freak'. She's like my sister. I hang out with her because she was really my first friend here, and that's not going to change!" Kory was beginning to breathe heavy, and Xavier decided it was time to work his charm to get her to calm down.

"Listen, baby. I was kidding. I'll see you after school, okay?" With a swift wink and a smack to the behind, he was gone. Kory rubbed her temples and leaned up against the locker she was closest to. Closing her eyes, she tried not to be frustrated at how her morning had started out so far.

"Excuse me, but you're in my way."

"Oh, sorry, I…oh. It's you." Kory's lip curled in mild disgust as she surveyed none other than Barbara Gordon – rich, snooty redhead, and girlfriend of Richard Grayson.

"No, it's Bobo the Clown. Of course it's me, you idiot; now move! _Or does her highness need someone to bring her satin thrown and carry her out of the way_?" Barbara sneered; despite the fact that Kory had easily taken her place as top dog of the school, Babs was driven almost insane at the weird infatuation her boyfriend had with her. He didn't like her, she knew that, but he was always wondering what she was doing. It was like he hated Kory, but was still interested in her life. It weirded her out, not to mention took away from the attention she received from him.

"Whatever," Kory mumbled, ducking out of her way and starting down the hall. Babs was taken aback; whatever? _Whatever?_ That was it? Clearly, the Anders girl was not capable of being the most popular girl in school. She needed at least one good bitch-fight on her record.

"Slut." Barbara called after her, quietly, tauntingly. Her cherry-red lipstick covered lips wormed slowly into a mocking smirk. Kory came to an abrupt halt. Her morning was bad enough, without this ice queen – to whom Kory had barely ever talked to in her life – to be giving her a hard time.

"What's your problem?" Kory asked, turning around. The hall was silently observing; they had parted right down the middle of the hall and were now all standing in a group, up against either side of the hall, leaning on both rows of lockers.

"I see how you look at my boyfriend. Well guess what; he doesn't want any stupid, spoiled, brat of a princess like you anywhere near him. He's told me plenty of times. So why don't you keep your big, oddly-shaped, horribly-tanned nose out of others peoples business, and stick to your own." Babs crossed her arms, thoroughly pleased with herself. Kory's eyes stung with the threat of tears, but she would not let Babs win. Richard said that?

**Wait**…looking at her boyfriend? This bitch was crazy.

"You know what, Babs-"Kory started, but Babs cut in.

"It's Barbara to you, you skank."

That did it. Kory had been interrupted one-too many times in the past, oh, half an hour? With a cry of frustration, Kory threw down her backpack and lunged at Babs, grabbing her long red hair, (that by the way was no where near as luscious or beautiful as Kory's), and gave it a good tug. Barbara scratched at her arms, screaming bloody murder. The crowd began chanting, mostly for Kory, and the fight was on.

"So. Tired. People. Interrupting. Me." Kory said one word every time she gave Barbara's hair a good, hard tug.

She was just getting ready to try and see if she could bite one of Barbara's spray-tanned arms, when she felt herself being lifted off of her feet. Her grip on Barbara's hair loosened momentarily, and in that small fraction of a second, Babs managed to get free of Kory's grasp and move out of her reach.

Still clawing and kicking, Kory didn't even realize who had picked her up until a booming voice cried out, "It's alright, lil' lady – I think you got her."

It was one of her best friends, Victor Stone. Victor was the loud, jock, popular type. He was in Ryan's grade, and had taking an immediate liking to Kory. He and Ryan were on the football team together, and with Victor Stone and Ryan Anders as body guards, Kory soon found that even if she hadn't been the most popular girl in school, she definitely would have been the most respected girl in school. Victor was huge; the star quarterback of the team. His chocolatey-brown skin was always smooth, and so was he. He was like another big brother to Kory.

Victor put her down, grabbing her shoulders and looking into her face. With a look of the utmost seriousness on his face, he bent down until he was eye-level with Kory and said, "You know I'd shout 'Booyah', but I gotta make it look like what you did was wrong." Even through the slightly angry look on Victor's face, she could sense the amusement in his eyes as he turned away from her and approached Babs. If anything, he was angry with Babs for starting something with Kory; but outright siding with a friend could result in his losing popular support with the crowd, a death sentence for the football team. Kory understood completely.

While Victor was talking to Kory, Barbara had managed to find Richard and was hanging on to him precariously, crying into his chest. Kory guessed that Victor and Richard had arrived together. The three of them, that is, Ryan, Victor, and Richard, were in a little group of very popular boys, along with a couple other guys. Kory didn't see either of the other two boys anywhere in the hallway, and she really didn't care at the moment. Rolling her eyes, Kory huffed as she picked up her bag and crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at the couple she had come to loathe so much.

Richard was shaking his head in Kory's general direction, as he stroked Babs's hair. Kory walked up to stand beside Victor, keeping her expression cold and trying to control her breathing.

She managed to get there just in time to catch the last of whatever Vic was saying.

"-really very sorry, she says." So Victor was just finishing up covering up for her.

"No, she says she really isn't." Said Kory from somewhere near his shoulder, defiantly. Victor really had to suppress a chuckle and it took all the strength he had to keep his face from betraying him and breaking into the wide grin he had managed to hide under his serious façade. Babs stopped her sobbing, (that had been quite fake), to look daggers at Kory.

"Why, you little-"she started, but Richard cleared his throat, stepping in front of his girlfriend. Kory blinked; the two hadn't spoken a word to each other since Kory's family moved the kids back out to America.

"Look, I didn't just attack her. She deserved it." Kory said, although she hadn't the foggiest idea why she was explaining herself to Richard, of all people. Even Victor raised his eyebrows at her. Embarrassed, Kory crossed her arms even tighter in front of her and looked away, determined _not_ to catch anyone's eye. Richard seemed to be shocked at her little speech, as well, because he cleared his throat two or three more times before he spoke, and even then his voice was a little raspy and uncertain.

"Quite frankly, Anders," Kory felt her face get hot before he had even finished his second word; why was he speaking to her like he was about to discipline her? Richard continued, "I don't care why you tried to render my girlfriend to a balding, emotional wreck for the rest of her life, but I had better not hear about you coming back for another round, or there'll be hell to pay."

Richard was surprised at himself. His voice had grown steadily harsher as his warning continued, and by the end was kind of repulsed by it, even though his blood was still thickened by his hate for Kory. Kory, meanwhile, had finally let her hears fall; she pushed past Richard without another word, heading undoubtedly for the girls' bathroom.

Victor, no longer amused, also pushed past Richard, shaking his head. Richard stared in the same spot, not moving, until Barbara threw herself upon him. Staggering under her weight, he hastily pushed her off.

"And you," Richard started, rounding on Babs, "stop trying to get everyone in trouble!" With this final snarl, Richard walked down the hallway in the direction of his homeroom. Barbara huffed, put out, and slammed her locker. Maybe the playboy needed a little wake up call. She, Barbara Gordon, was going to make Richard see that she was his happily ever after – and no little snot-nosed brat of a princess was going to come between them!

KORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORYKORY

Why, exactly, she was crying her eyes out on the bathroom floor, she had no clue. The harshness of his words and the unjustness of everyone scolding her were what had brought tears to her eyes, surely. And Barbara's comments were nothing to smile about; but what had really pushed her over the edge? There was no doubt about it.

It was the first time in four years that Dick had spoken to her; and that was what he had said? Kory sighed, hoisting herself up off the floor and leaning against one of the sinks. The white porcelain bowl was gleaming with an 'its-still-early-so-I'm-still-clean' kind of feeling, and the cold material was somehow soothing under her shaking hands.

Although she had hated to admit it, she always kind of secretly hoped that she and Dick would be able to make up once she got back. But she didn't have to be wearing a snow jacket to feel the cold air he sent her way whenever they were in close proximity of each other. At first it killed her, to realize that he still disliked her so much. But soon she had learned to just put it out of her mind, and try to match the dislike he radiated so easily towards her.

But the way he had just totally brushed aside her side of the story…it brought back all the hurt she had learned to shut out so long ago. Of course she imagined he would side with Babs; she was, after all, his girlfriend. But considering their long history together, and the fact that he was more or less best friends with Kory's older brother, she thought he would have at least had the courtesy of hearing what she had to say before laying into her.

By now, Kory was feeling more righteous anger than anything, really, and as she touched up her hair in the mirror, she noted that her eyes seemed to glow a little bit brighter a green than they had all morning. Once again pleased with her appearance, Kory walked out of the bathroom to the sounds of greetings and compliments renewed. Smiling at having things at least a little bit back to normal, she continued on her path to homeroom, the first class of the day.

**Alright, well, considering its one o'clock in the morning, and I'm running off a mere three hours of sleep, I'd say this chapter was pretty exceptional, wouldn't you? I mean, it's not my greatest, and it's not super eventful, but, I mean, it's one of those introductory chapters. I introduced Babs and Raven and Cyborg, and Beast boy was supposed to come in, too, but he's having wardrobe malfunctions, so he'll be in next chapter. I guess it'll pick up the pace a little bit starting with the next chapter? Or so I hope…I'm going away for a week, (surf camp in San Diego, then Vegas), and then school's starting, so I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to get the next chapter up, but hopefully I don't lose my thread for this story in the meantime :) **

**Well, you've Read, now please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody. So I thought I'd just let you all know that surf camp 2007 was absolutely AMAZING. Everyone in the beachcombers age group this year are my newly appointed heroes; I love them ALL. **

**I miss them already. Especially Toni, my camp best friend, and Ceasar, my camp fling :). **

**Vegas was pretty fun, too. Ha ha…me and my step sister had a great time in Circus Circus, and our new goal is to get to the Bahamas. **

**NOW that I've rambled on and on about my personal life and things you care nothing about, I'll continue with the story ;). **

**NOTICE: Last chapter, I said that Victor, Ryan, and Richard were all in a group of boys that were the most popular guys in school. I insinuated that there were only four in their group; in all actuality, I meant to tell you that there are five. Sorry for the mix-up! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. **

He pressed one beefy hand to his forehead, lifting his eyebrows and moaning slightly under his breath. Migraines always came to him at the most unproductive of times; this one was no exception. At the moment, he was sitting behind his desk, waiting for a phone call that could change his entire life.

He was the founder and president of the popular kid's attraction, Moth Land. Where young kids were able to go on insect-themed rides and try to win stuffed critters by playing carnival-type games. It had just had its grand opening two summers ago, and although the theme park was still fairly new, he had to admit that business was no longer booming.

What had seemed like a great idea at the start had now spiraled quickly into oblivion; he just didn't understand what had happened! At first, everything was going great. Kids were dragging their parents to the park with high hopes and heads filled with the thought of the main attraction; the Killer Moth.

Just the thought of it made a small smile appear on the man's face; most of the money he had spent on the building of this monstrous theme park went into the engineering and designing of the Killer Moth. It was a 13 foot, grotesque robotic moth; at unexpected times, it would jump out from its secret hiding spot in the ground and run screaming around the park for five to ten minutes.

He loved that moth like the son he never had, (his daughter was great, but she could be quite a handful sometimes). Killer Moth never needed to be fed, washed, entertained, and its independence made him love the robot even more. But the problem was it was just too scary! Young kids eventually stopped coming, and although the scariness of the bug began to attract teenagers, they too got bored after a time, and instead turned to vandalizing the park.

The dream that he had put millions upon millions of dollars into soon became nothing but a memory. Bankruptcy seemed inevitable, and the worst thing about it was that poor Killer Moth had to be put to rest; in its last run, some unimpressed teenagers ganged up on the poor creature and took it to the ground.

The man slammed his fist down at the thought. Who had let those dang boys in with baseball bats, anyway? Slowly, he relaxed; he put his face into his hands, resolving to make sure security was tighter next time-

'RIIIIIIIIIIING'.

The phone was ringing.

'RIIIIIIIIIIING'.

It was that dreaded phone call; the one that could make him or break him.

'RIIIIIIIIIIING'.

Yes, it was still ringing. Almost grudgingly, he reached over and picked up the receiver without even opening his eyes.

"This is Keith Moth, president and proprietor of Moth Land, how may I help you?" the greeting was automatic.

"Keith, it's me. I've got some bad news." It was the voice of his business partner, Slade Wilson. He had become dead useful at the opening of the park; it was too much work for Keith to do on his own. So he allowed himself to become co-owner of Moth Land, but he still basically called all the shots.

Keith sighed audibly. "What is it?" It came out more like a bark than a question.

"They're closing down the park. We've lost it all." The click of the call ending followed this statement; Slade was done talking.

Moth put down the receiver as well. There was nothing left for him to say; it was all over. All the time and money he had invested into the park, all the hopes and dreams he had for Kitten to go to college, of bribing the professors handsomely to put up with her so she'd be out of his hair for three or four years, everything that had come of Moth Land; it was all gone.

How was he going to tell Kitten that she now had to learn to be nice to people? That she had no more money to throw around or use to get her way?

One thing was certain. Moth Land was officially finished in this town, and by the looks of things, another Moth would be finished if he didn't figure out something to do about it.

He sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples, a frown now completely evident on his face; he sat like that for quite some time that morning, trying to accept the fact that he was…what was that word that poor people used?...oh yes. BROKE.

He shuddered.

RICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARD

It had been a long, exhausting day. He wasn't sure when he had officially become worn out; was it in biology class, when he absolutely bombed the pop quiz that was sprung on the unsuspecting students, most of whom, like Richard himself, had failed to complete their homework. Or perhaps it was when his locker got jammed between fourth and fifth period, causing him to be ten minutes late to history class, causing Mad Mod to go off on him in some incoherent version of Cagney? Or maybe…maybe it had been the fight that had broken out between Babs and Kory this morning that had so thoroughly tired the playboy out?

Richard gave a halfhearted smile, shaking his head. What had they been fighting about, anyway? Babs had insisted upon reporting Kory to the dean for harassment, but Richard just laughed, causing them to get into a huge fight at lunch. Richard gave a dry laugh; at least the cafeteria had been entertained.

She hadn't talked to him the whole rest of the day. But Richard knew Kory wasn't the type to just pick fights with random girls, or any girls, for that matter. Kory was the nicest, most sensitive person he'd ever met. Well, he _thought_ she had been, until she shot down attempt to share his feelings for her, so many years ago.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the locket that he had tried to give Kory so long ago. Koma had mailed it back to him a few weeks after the family had returned home that summer, along with a letter apologizing for her sister's bratty behavior, and confiding in him that they might never see each other again, thanks to Kory's decision to no longer visit Jump City.

Richard was actually frowning at this point. It's not that he hadn't thought about Kory for a while, quite the contrary, he had barely ever stopped thinking about her, ever since she left his house that night.

Okay, so not all of his thoughts about her were genuinely nice, but a good portion of his dwelling on her consisted of thoughts of the past, when everything between them had been all peachy keen and the world was nothing but a big bowl of ice cream. Everything had just been so easy back then.

He was walking slower now, deeply immersed in his thoughts of the past. As the wind tickled his face, he distinctly remembered how Kory's hair seemed to float along behind her when he pushed her on the swing. When he stumbled a little bit on an uneven piece of sidewalk, he thought of how graceful she always seemed to be. He was quite familiar with all of these thoughts; he'd sometimes find himself looking at the locket, feeling it with his hands, but not really seeing it. Instead, pictures of a redheaded goddess would dance before his eyes; and although Babs was redheaded, she sure as hell wasn't a goddess…more like a devil-ess. Was that even a word?

Probably not. And there was no real way to describe their relationship…except maybe tiresome. Or fake. Possibly, once-good-now-horrible-because-she's-been-getting-on-my-nerves-with-her-assumptions-that-I'll-buy-her-everything…yea, that was probably a good word for it.

But maybe this thing was coming to an end. Babs still hadn't talked to him for the whole day; maybe she'd break up with him tomorrow and try to humiliate him in front of the whole school. Richard chuckled. Well, practically the whole school knew that he wanted nothing more to be rid of her; they'd probably give him a standing ovation.

Richard had stopped walking; something in his body just willed him to stop. He had no idea why, or what had caused it; but he had a feeling that he _had_ to stop. Curious as to the reason of this unscheduled stop, he paused to look around him. He was just turning around to see if maybe someone was following him when he saw it; it was Kory. She was walking on the other side of the road, but she passed without taking any notice of him. She looked a cross between angry and saddened.

With a jolt, Richard realized it could have been his little episode with her that had spurred her into uneasiness. He was just pondering whether or not to call out to her when his cell phone rang, jarring him from his thoughts. Looking at the caller ID, he was caught between amusement and exasperation; apparently, Babs was so livid with him that she had decided to call and continue her mental abuse of him after school hours.

Because, somehow, doing it in front of the whole cafeteria wasn't enough.

"Yes, Babs." Richard answered emotionlessly. Instead of the kind of squeal Babs emitted when she was angry that Richard was expecting, a very honeyed tone responded to his dull greeting.

"Richard sweetie, be a dear and make a quick run back to school for me; I think I left my purse in my locker."

Richard sighed. "Babs, I won't see you until the morning, anyway; what's the point of me going back to get it when you won't get it any earlier?"

"Richard. I was being polite when I was pretending to ask you. Now I'm telling you. I don't want my purse staying in that locker over night, now _kindly _go and retrieve it for me!" With a soft clicking sound, the call was ended. Richard heaved another sigh.

Looking one last time up the street at Kory's retreating back, Richard turned back around to get Barbara's purse before they locked up the school.

**Boring, again, I'm sorry. I need this info in the story, though. Please bear with me! And I know it didn't flow as well as other chapters; I'm trying to work with it. **

**Bear with me. **

**Bear with me. **

**Bear with me. **

**THANK YOU(: **

**Review, please. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible.**


	4. Chapter 4

**HI guys! Okay so last chapter I introduced a couple new characters, Slade and Killer Moth. I know that you probably are wondering what possessed me to pick two evil characters and put them in a depressing scene together. But trust me; I have a plan (:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

Richard hadn't been too extremely far from school when he had grudgingly turned around to get his girl friend's purse, but the walk back to school somehow seemed like a lifetime. His mind was on Kory the entire time, (not that this came as any surprise)…

His footsteps made dull echoes as he made his way down the deserted hallway. Papers and pencils and the occasional food wrapper or beverage bottle littered the floor as they always did when the hallway was finally cleared out and the students were enjoying their freedom from educational activities.

Between his echoing footsteps and the trash all over, Richard felt quite alone in the silent school, and reasoned to stand up to Babs next time. She was going to have to stop treating him like her servant, or he'd…he'd…

Richard sighed. He knew he wouldn't do anything. Babs was his cover-up, his mask. She provided him with the well-managed façade that nothing Kory had done, was doing, or will do would ever come across as important to him. Girls adored Richard, but he could safely ignore them and not get tangled up in any kind of emotional bond with them as long as he had Babs to hide behind. And with Babs acting as a shield, Richard could secretly observe Kory from a safe distance. NOT in any creepy stalker way. Geez; couldn't a guy admire a beautiful yet unreachable goddess without people thinking he's some sort of creep?

He let out yet another inaudible sigh.

He knew he was being cowardly, but he had spent years building up his reputation as a playboy with an "I could care less" attitude towards basically everything and everyone; why ruin it by subjecting himself to heartbreak thanks to Kory for the _second_ time in his life? He wouldn't be able to handle it, not again. Kory had that incomprehensible power to take everything Richard was, everything that made him Richard, and mold him into anything she wanted. If Kory had asked Richard to go to outer space and bring her back a meteor, he would have immediately applied for a job with NASA. For Kory, Richard would change himself to resemble her dream guy. Well, he _would have_ done all these things for her; now, he wasn't so sure. He was over her, anyway. Completely, totally, one hundred percent over her. Mostly…Kind of…All right; not so much…

Richard stopped dead in his tracks. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts; he had walked clear past Babs's locker and up a whole extra floor. He had wandered into senior territory; it was the hallways where all the senior lockers were. As Richard finally stopped to take in his surroundings, pondering whether or not the situation was annoying or funny, he realized he wasn't alone. Taking a few more steps down the hall, he saw a couple displaying various sorts of PDA. Half disgusted and half amused, Richard decided he was curious enough to continue down the hall and get a better look at the make-out session that was taking place up against a row of lockers. Acting as if he neither realized nor cared that he was not alone, Richard ventured down the otherwise abandoned hallway. Once he got close enough to determine who the people were he instantly felt bad for the lockers.

Pressed all the way up against locker 873 was none other than Katelyn Moth, otherwise known as "Kitten". The person applying the pressure was Xavier Redd. Richard decided that the couple made a perfect match. He was just as perverted and deceitful as Kitten was demented and snobbish. But something at the back of Richard's mind whispered that something wasn't right; he just couldn't figure out what it was. Not giving it too much thought, Richard managed to continue past them rather unnoticed, (which was fine with him as he didn't like either of them), and down the stairs at the end of the hall.

The rest of the trip to Barbara's locker was uneventful, and Richard's mind was now plagued with two disturbing occurrences; Kory's walk down the street with an upset look on her face, and Xavier's make out session with Kitten. He wasn't jealous by ANY means; the less Richard saw of Kitten the better, as far as he was concerned. But Richard just couldn't for the life of him figure out what bothered him so much about Xavier being with Kitten…

When Richard finally got to Barbara's locker and put in the combination, he opened it to find that it was empty except for a couple textbooks and a composition book. Picking up _English II_, (Barbara was never the smartest of students), and looking behind it hopefully, Richard blinked at the locker that was definitely void of a brand new Gucci purse. Cursing, Richard slammed the locker shut. This was her form of payback!

Closing his eyes, he leaned against the locker and rubbed his temples, much like a certain redheaded princess had done earlier that morning. Without opening his eyes, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and pressed the number 4 on his speed dial until it began to call Barbara's cell.

"Yes, dear?" asked Barbara in honeyed tones.

"Well, I'm at the school. You must have taken your purse, Babs, 'cause it's definitely _not_ here." Richard tried to make it very clear through the tone of his voice that he was by no means pleased with Barbara at the moment.

"Oh, yes. Silly me, its right here. I had it all along! Sorry dear." A click on the other end let Richard know that he had been dismissed from the phone call. Sighing, Richard slid the phone back into his pocket and was about to proceed to the exit when he heard footsteps approaching noisily. Without thinking about what he was doing, Richard darted to the nearest doorway and wrenched open the door, thrusting himself inside and pulling it silently shut behind him. The last thing he needed right now was a confrontation with Xavier or Kitten.

Pressing the side of his face against the door, he could hear the loud sounds of someone drawing near to the place where Richard had been just a few moments previously. It was Xavier. It sounded like he and Kitten had finally decided to part ways, but not for long, because just as soon as Richard reached this conclusion, he heard Xavier call, "I'll be at your house at 11 o'clock sharp – make sure you can come outside right away. I don't like waiting." Richard chuckled to himself. Redd was SUCH a jerk! He didn't see why so many girls liked him…he always had a girlfriend, after one break up he'd have another girl attached to his hip in two days. And then there were the girls that just never let go, those girls that broke up with him and then continuously begged for him back….

Richard smacked his hand against his forehead. Now he remembered: Xavier was dating Kory! He had just witnessed Xavier cheating on his arch enemy, so why on earth did he feel like beating the crap out of Xavier for it? And sure enough, Richard could hear Xavier on the phone with someone, trying to explain something. It sounded as if he was leaning up against the wall opposite the door that Richard was currently crouched behind.

"Well, you know what? I forgot! Leave me alone, the world hasn't ended. You're such a cry baby, Kory!"

Silence.

"Fine then, be a bitch! You're just a spoiled princess brat who needs attention. Well sorry, but I have better things to do than to cater to you, your highness!" Xavier hung up the phone, and Richard could hear his haughty footsteps eventually fade into nothingness as Xavier stomped down the hall and exited the school.

Richard slowly opened the door and stepped out of the janitor's closet that he had been seeking refuge in. Silently closing it behind him, he leaned up against it and closed his eyes. Pressing his hands to his forehead, he wondered why there were so many feelings rushing around inside of him, and why the greatest of those feelings was screaming at him to run after Xavier and beat him to within an inch of his life.

He could not still care for Kory Anders. After all these years remaining cold and unfeeling towards her, he had always been able to mask the secret love he had still been harboring for her. But now, it seemed, those feelings could no longer be kept at bay, and were growing more and more with every passing moment. Richard was to always and forever be in love with Kory.

So all he had to do was to find a way to hide this for the rest of his life.

Great.

Richard stood outside of his deserted school, feeling indescribably miserable. He didn't understand it. He just couldn't hate Kory, although it wasn't for lack of trying.

Richard kicked a pebble that had been lying peacefully by his shoe and dug his hands deep into his pockets, staring at nothing in particular. He knew Babs had grown tired of his endless discussions on Kory. He was always bashing her for something or other. Her ridiculously long hair, (that somehow always seemed to be able to catch a wind and ripple beautifully behind her), her ugly tan, (which was perfectly even and gave her a radiant glow), the way she bounced around and smiled like 24/7, (that smile that could take his breath away, even when it wasn't directed at him…the way everything seemed so dull compared to her iridescent glow). Well, he didn't voice ALL of those opinions, mainly the negative ones.

But he had to admit, if the tables were turned and he had to listen to someone snickering humorlessly about an ex-lover of their's for days on end, he'd be pretty annoyed with that certain someone. So why couldn't he ever stop talking about her? She was like a disease; he had been diagnosed with this illness when he was a small boy and he would never be able to live a normal life.

If only they could be friends, could exchange a few words a day with as little sarcasm or ill wishes possible. Admittedly, when he had finally had a conversation with her today, for the first time since she had returned to the states, his heart did back flips with every syllable he managed to utter. The bitterness in his voice had surprised him more than it had her, and yet he couldn't for the life of him figure out how to stem the flow of malicious words that had flowed out of his mouth. Her tears cut into him like hot knives, and her unhappiness after their brief but powerful conversation had been almost unbearable, eating away at his already wearying day, not to mention the argument that had erupted between Richard and Ryan because of it.

Someday, Richard promised himself, things wouldn't be like this. He'd find a way to patch things up with Kory, maybe sit down and have a nice discussion about all the things that had happened that horrible night, the words that had been exchanged and the feelings behind them. Someday, she'd look to him as a friend, and maybe with time a best friend. He'd be able to bail her out of tough situations and beat up stupid boyfriends that played with her emotions like Xavier.

As much as he wanted to see Xavier begging for mercy at the moment, now was not the time. Kory and Richard had just barely had a horrible conversation, let alone a productive one! Xavier would have to wait for his beating, Kory would have to wait for Richard to be her best friend, and Richard would have to wait for the love of his life to finally be comfortable in his presence.

Richard subconsciously pulled the locket once again out of his pocket, sliding the metal over his fingers and holding it closely to his chest. He was so deep in thought; he didn't even notice that his Alfred had been waiting for him with his limo for going on five minutes just a little ways away.

Kitten flung herself down on the bed, sobbing into her satin pillow and pounded the mattress with both fists. Keith Moth followed her into her room, uttering apology after apology to his daughter. It wasn't his fault. He did everything he could. It wouldn't be permanent. All the usual bull.

Kitten Moth was more than spoiled. She was all but rotten to the core. She had lived a life of luxury since she stepped out of the womb and didn't appreciate the sudden change of scenery. They were moving to an _apartment_? They were firing all of the _maids_? She would have to get a _job_? They were _BROKE_?

She didn't understand. (This was most always the case, as Kitten wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.) Where had all the money gone?? It had been there when she woke up in the morning. Why wasn't it waiting for her after school like it had been since she had started going to Kindergarten? It wasn't allowed to leave now!

She flung her pillow at her father, oblivious to his pleas for forgiveness, and he got the point. Backing out of the room, he shut the door behind him and walked down the hall and into his own room. Sitting on the bed, he buried his face in his hands.

She had taken it better than he thought. At least she hadn't broken the china dishes or thrown the cashmere rugs out the window like she had when she was seven and had been told she was not allowed to have dessert. (He had, of course, given in and sent her to bed with a lollipop).

Regardless of the magnitude of the violence of Kitten's reaction, she was terribly upset, and something had to be done. Keith was not one to keep his daughter unhappy, and the newly induced financial strain would not stand in the way of his daughter's pleasure.

No matter how drastic, irresponsible, or even impossible it was: something had to be done.

But what? How could Keith somehow attain the money that Kitten would need to assuage her unhappiness? Whatever it was, Keith was definitely willing–

A crash from somewhere downstairs brought him quickly out of his thoughts.

So she _had_ broken the china dishes.

Richard's limo sped through the streets. He had finally noticed Alfred waiting diligently for 'Master Richard' to be ready to go home. Alfred was like family. Richard saw the elderly man as more of a grandfather than a butler, but Alfred would hear none of it. Richard would never win the argument, and Alfred would never begin calling him Richard or anything informal like that.

Richard stared out the window quietly for most of the ride home, and Alfred grew worried. What was more worrisome, however, was Richard's sudden outburst.

"_Stop the car!_" The tires screeched in protest as Alfred slammed his foot on the brakes. Richard quickly got out of the limo and stood with the door open, leaning on the frame of the car. A look of mingled fury, misery, and shock consumed his handsome features. The hand gripping the top of the car door held so tightly to the metal that the knuckles were a fierce shade of white. His other hand shook so violently that he shoved it into his pocket to stifle it. After another tense minute, Richard got back into the car and beckoned Alfred to continue driving home. Alfred as always obliged, but first inquired as to what had been so terribly wrong that Richard had to give Alfred such a fright.

Richard said quietly, "She's hurting" before looking out the window once more. Alfred was puzzled at first, but as he started up the car again he thought he understood. In his rearview mirror Alfred could see a startlingly beautiful mansion shrinking in the distance. Just discernible against the darkening sky was a small figure on the roof, shaking with what Alfred and Richard both thought to be violent sobs.

**Merry Christmas :) It's been forever, I know. I'm sorry. Kinda really hectic life at the moment. But as my Christmas present to you, I've updated! Hopefully you enjoy it.**

**Would you like to keep in the gift giving spirit and leave me a review? That'd be great, thanks. Ha ha.**


	5. Chapter 5

When Richard arrived to school the next day, he was surprised to see Kory sitting alone in her car with tears lining her cheeks

**WOW; ITS REALLY BEEN FOREVER, HASN'T IT?? Sorry everyone. Life has been the most hectic thing ever for me, lately. But its summer now; hopefully everything will get better, and I'll definitely be updating much more often. I had to get back into the swing of this story, it was such a long break. This chapter's short, but the next chapter is coming soon and you'll get a lot of info, I promise.**

**Thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers! And just to clear things up; I'm sorry about last chapter, with all of the switching between scenes and characters and whatnot. I had page breaks in there so it would be less confusing to see the transitions between Kitten and Mr. Moth and Richard, but takes out things like that sometimes, and I forget. I'll just do page breaks with word's from now on. Sorry about that.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Teen Titans; the show would still be on the air right now.**

When Richard arrived to school the next day, he was surprised to see Kory sitting alone in her car with tears lining her cheeks. Her eyes were red and puffy. Anyone could see that she had been crying the whole morning, and very likely the entire night. Richard wondered if Xavier had been feeling extremely heartless and had told her that he had been with Kitten, instead of lying and telling her he had forgotten their date, or whatever it was that he had missed.

Richard's blood began to boil, and with great reluctance he tore his eyes away from the gut-wrenching sight of Kory in pain. Proceeding into the school and down the hallway, he searched for the one person he'd feel safe discussing his feelings on Kory at the moment with, but soon realized that Ryan wasn't anywhere to be found. That struck him as a little odd. Trying to shrug it off, he slowly made his way down the hall and to his locker.

If he hadn't been so preoccupied with the urge to give Xavier a good beating, he might've noticed that none of Kory's closest friends seemed to be around, either.

As he was getting his books out of his locker for his first period, Garfield Logan leaned up against the locker to his right, furrowing hs brow at his best friend. He was a little shorter than Richard, and a little more gangly. He had blonde hair, but had died the tips of his spikes green. His eyes were also green, and he was almost always smiling at some joke he had made. A loving person, Garfield, (better known as Gar), had been best friends with Richard since the two were kids. After about a minute of silence, Gar piped up.

"Hey man, you uhh….you alright?" He asked, concern etched into his face. Richard looked up, startled.

"Yea. Yea, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Was it really that obvious that he was inwardly tearing himself apart? What's the point of wearing stupid sunglasses every second of your life if everyone can see past them and tell what you're thinking??

"Oh, no reason…it's just that you've taken your science book out of your locker, put it into your backpack, then taken it from your backpack and put it back into your locker about five times now" Gar said, smiling.

"Oh, well…you know. I wasn't sure if we'd, uh, need it for class today. Can't make up my mind." Richard lied, lamely.

"Oh, well seeing as our first class is English, I'm guessing we won't need it, bud. You sure you're alright?" Gar tried one more time.

"Yea man, I told you. I'm fine." Richard said, shutting his locker.

"Oh, OK. Well listen, do you think afterschool you'd want to…" Gar trailed off, looking at something behind Richard. Richard could tell by the way his eyes grew wide and his mouth set into a firm line, that something was wrong. "Oh man…Richard…"

Whipping around, Richard looked for any sign of what could be wrong. Looking at everyone in the hallway, his mind jumped to Gar's secret crush, Rachel, but he saw no trace of her. The only thing that he could see was…Xavier kissing a familiar redhead.

Richard began to grow hot, and he clenched his fists. How could Kory take Xavier back after the way he treated her last night? He had thought for sure that they'd be over for good this time…but something wasn't right.

Kory's hair was a dazzling red, and her skin had a certain glow about it. The redhead that Xavier was kissing had a more dull color to her hair, and from what he could see, she was only glowing because of the mass amount of fake tan that she had so obvously applied to her body. From the back, that didn't look like Kory.

And then the mystery girl turned around, and he got a good look at the front of her.

Xavier wasn't kissing Kory; he was kissing Babs.

**Next chapter coming soon, I promise.**

**In the meantime, review please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm pretty sure you all want to shoot me right now, for not updating for so longg.**

**But it's okay; instead of giving you my list of excuses, I'm just going to go on with the storyDEAL?(o: [Enjoy].**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the teen titans.**

Richard froze. He was in complete shock at the sight before him, pissed beyond imagination. Who did she think she was? Did she think she could just cheat on Richard Grayson, and get away with it? And with XAVIER, of all people!

Well, the scene did give him a small dose of savage pleasure; this was the perfect excuse to beat Xavier's sorry ass. As if reading his mind, Gar immediately got in front of Richard and tried to calm him down.

"Look, Rich, just calm down for a sec and let's think things…" Garfield sighed as Richard walked right past him and up to his girlfriend "…through. Great; topper of my day!" Garfield grunted as he followed his best friend onto what he knew would soon be a battle field.

"Hey Babs. Are you busy?" Richard whispered coolly into her ear. Babs quickly shoved Xavier away from her and turned to her infuriated boyfriend.

"Hey babe, you're here early this morning! I mean…it's not what it looks like…I mean…I love you..?" Babs tried, pathetically.

"Nice try. Now get out of the way so I can rearrange this guy's face. I'll deal with you later" He added, menacingly, pushing Babs aside and stepping up to Xavier.

"What? Is Richie-poo jealous now? I was just having a little fun with her – you can't blame me for that, can you?" Richard stared coldly at him, but his blood was boiling, nonetheless. Xavier went on, completely unaware that Richard was about to beat the living daylights out of him. "I mean, look at her, she's one fine piece of –"

Richard shoved him up against the nearest locker before he could finish that sentence.

"Listen here, you worthless asshole, "Richard began, "I was going to cuss you out before I beat the shit out of you, and tell you how much I hate you, but I've decided that beating the shit out of you is a much more satisfactory way of exerting my anger. Insults will only get me so far when they're wasted on a scumbag like you!" Richard's voice was shaking with anger. As he growled this last sentence, he wound his fist back, and Xavier's eyes went wide with shock at what was happening and how quickly Richard had moved. However, just before Richard's fist made impact with Xavier's jaw, a quivering, but loud voice made a certain someone's presence known to both of them.

"Xavier…? Richard…? What…what's going on?" Kory asked, her tear-stained face beautiful, even in the midst of fear and utter confusion. Xavier pushed Richard off of him and went up to her immediately.

"Babe, what are you doing here?" Xavier asked, with a real hint of concern edging his otherwise casual voice.

"What do you mean what is she doing here? She goes to school here you idiot!" Richard barked, thoroughly annoyed by this interruption. Richard continued in his address to Xavier, "Just because your girlfriend showed up and saved the day doesn't mean I'm finished with you. I swear to God, Red, when I'm done with you, you're going to have to breathe through a tube for the rest of your life!" Richard's anger was growing now. Kory had no idea about Xavier's little escapades with all the sluts of the school, but she'd find out soon enough.

However, Xavier ignored him. His sole attention was focused on Kory, and neither of them seemed to realize that all of the nosy onlookers in the hall were watching the pair of them intently, wondering what was going on.

"Kory, you don't look so good. We need to get you home, right away." He took her arm, and she stared blankly back at him, creating cause for alarm, "Have you eaten anything since you found out? Kory, let's get you out of here, babe." He tried pulling her toward the exit, but she wouldn't budge. Instead, her gaze was now fixed on Richard. She took a step towards him, pulling her arm out of Xavier's grasp. Xavier and Richard both grew uncomfortable with this, and shared a moment of simultaneous confusion as to what was going on.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Richard asked, with more bite in his voice than he had meant. "What the hell is going on??" He asked, this time directing his question towards Xavier, who just set his jaw and glared at him in response.

Kory took another step towards him, her eyes wide and a look of uncertainty upon her face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now, and Richard wondered when they had started falling. They were only feet apart now, and Richard had no idea what to do. Babs stood up against the lockers opposite the side that Richard had shoved Xavier up against, looking questionably between the two people as Kory slowly closed the gap between herself and Richard. Babs cleared her throat, feeling her voice come back to her at last.

"Excuse me, but would you mind fixing those ugly eyes of yours on somebody _else's_ boyfriend?" Babs asked, stepping in front of Richard menacingly. She may have just cheated on him, but he was still her territory, and she never backed down from an imposing threat to her territory.

However, her 'territory' abruptly pushed Babs out of the way, telling her harshly to shut up, and that he wasn't her boyfriend any longer. Babs turned around and looked up at him.

"Richard, darling…you can't be serious!" She exclaimed. He glared down at her.

"Babs, you just cheated on me with Xavier."

"Yes but…I was just having a little fun! You can understand that, can't you? Richard Grayson, the great playboy of Gotham City!" she mocked him, becoming cruel in her shock at his public dumping of her. However, Richard became even colder at her words.

"Barbara. I mean it: WE'RE OVER" he said loudly. Humiliated, she stepped closer to him, trying for one last appeal.

"You can't do this to me! I'm Barbara Garden! You can't dump me in front of the whole school! I'm the most popular girl here! Everyone loves me! You'll be a social outcast, now. Won't he, everyone?" She looked around, eager for support in her ostracizing of him. But she only met glares and snickers.

Garfield stepped up, "Babs…No one likes you. And Kory is the most popular girl in school. Get over yourself. We were only nice to you because you were dating Richard!" Pleased with himself, he stepped back, allowing his words to sink in to the stuck up redhead. Horribly embarrassed, she ran out of the hallway in tears, expecting Richard to trail behind her with his apology…but he never came.

Instead, he refocused his attention on Kory, who had likewise turned her attention to Xavier. When Richard and Babs were having their little scene, she had retraced her steps, and now stood in front of her boyfriend, gazing up at him in disbelief. The crowded hall grew dreadfully quiet, and everyone watched the redheaded goddess, wondering what was about to happen.

"You…you cheated on me, with Babs?" Kory asked him quietly. Her voice was hardly above a whisper, but somehow was heard by everyone in attendance.

"Babe, please, calm down – "Xavier began, but Kory wouldn't hear it. Her voice grew to a shrill, high-pitched voice, radiating urgency and anger, and causing Xavier to grimace.

"You knew! You knew what I was going through, what I _am_ going through! And you took advantage of me and got with Babs? How could you? I hate you! I came here because I thought I needed to see you! And this is what I find? How could you, Xavier? Don't I mean anything to you?" Kory's sobs echoed throughout the hall as she landed a feeble punch into Xavier's chest. He stood his ground, and tried to envelope Kory in a hug, repeating how sorry he was, but she grew violent at his touch.

In the heat of the moment, and before he really knew what he was doing, Richard had stepped forward and landed a punch into Xavier's stomach, satisfied at the grunting noise it evoked from the boy. But Kory turned to Richard and put her hand on his arm, pleading silently for him to stop.

Richard wanted so desperately to know what was wrong, what had happened to make her cry so hard, if it hadn't been Xavier. And just as he formed the words in his brain and prepared to make his reappearance into Kory's life, another voice was heard ringing through the hall.

"Kory? What are you doing here?" Kory turned around, and seeing her brother, rushed into his arms, sobbing. Ryan looked at the scene before him, Richard looking concernedly at Kory, Xavier doubled over in pain, and everyone else crowded into the small hallway, watching the events unfolding before them. Choosing to ignore the peculiarity of it all, he turned instead to his baby sister and continued as if it were just the two of them, alone. "Kory, we've been worried sick about you! Why did you come here? We need to get you home."

With admirable ease, he picked his sister up bridal style, and she instantly buried her face into his chest, away from the curious stares of her classmates. Ryan looked at Richard, and Richard was taken aback by the amount of sorrow and anguish he could see on his best friend's face. Something was horribly wrong.

As Ryan turned to leave, he paused to look back at Richard. They gazed at each other for a moment, and Ryan seemed to be considering something. He had a thoughtful frown on his handsome face, and after another moment of silence, cocked his head to the side, in a manner of beckoning Richard to follow him out. Without a word, Richard obeyed.

KITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTENKITTEN

Kitten sat on her bed, pouting as usual, when a knock came to her bedroom door.

"Father, I told you! I'm not going to school until you tell me we're not poor!" She shrieked, wondering why her old man wouldn't get the hint.

Instead, her door opened, and in walked, not her father, but her best friend Barbara Garden. Kitten blinked in confusion.

"You're not my father." Kitten told the redhead as she proceeded to sit on the bed. Barbara paused in kicking off her heels for a moment to stare at Kitten in annoyance at her slowness.

"Brilliant observation, moron. Listen, I came over to talk to you about something important. So I need you to shut up and try your hardest to understand what I'm saying to you, got it?" Barbara said, slowly and articulating her words as much as possible so the blonde bimbo would understand. Kitten held up three fingers in a mock Girl Scout symbol.

"I'll do my best". Babs rolled her eyes. This was going to be difficult. Sighing and rubbing her temples, Babs whipped out her cell phone and pressed number 7 on speed dial.

A grim tone answered. "Calling again so soon?"

"Yea, I know, I know. But I need your help. How quickly can you get to the Moth's residence? I've decided on a third accomplice who I know would just _die_ to help us out." Babs said in honeyed tones, eyeing Kitten as she stared back, blankly.

"Give me 20 minutes."

Babs hung up with a satisfied smile playing on her cherry-red lips.

RICHARDRICHARDRICHARADRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARD RICHARDRICHARDRICHARADRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARADRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARDRICHARD

They reached the parking lot in their odd procession; Garfield had stayed behind with Vic, (who had arrived shortly after the incident began and was there to witness almost the entire thing), and kept people from following them out.

When they reached Ryan's car, he set his sister down gingerly and kept his arm around her for support. She stared sedately down at the ground and didn't say a word.

"Kory, where are the keys to your car?" Ryan probed gently. Silently, she handed them over, never breaking eye contact with the grass beneath her. Taking them from her, he threw them to Richard and instructed him to drive it to the Anders' residence. Ryan would bring him back to school in his car. Richard nodded, but stayed rooted to the spot.

Understanding why his best friend hadn't yet moved, Ryan unlocked his car and let go of Kory's waist, quietly instructing her to wait in the car for two minutes while he talked to Richard alone. Nodding, she moved towards the car slowly, and Ryan pulled Richard about ten feet away from the car, since his sister was making slow progress.

"Hey man, what the hell is going on? Is everything okay?" Richard question concernedly as soon as Ryan had stopped walking. Searching his face for answers, Richard remained silent, trusting that he would soon find out what had happened. They stood facing the school, with their backs to the car. The wind made ripples in Richard's hair, and Ryan's blew into his eyes a bit. Even with so much tension and anguish circling them, the two made a handsome pair.

Silently, Richard met Ryan's eyes, and saw with horror that they had filled up with tears and were spilling over.

"Everything's all wrong. Mom and Dad…they were on their way home from a business trip, and…well, they weren't supposed to be home for another day, but they finished early and decided to come back and surprise us all….and…" He stopped, choking on his words. He looked away, almost unable to finish the story. Richard put his hand on Ryan's shoulder in silent support, praying to God that what he was thinking wasn't what Ryan was about to say.

"Rich…they're plane crashed. They're dead. We found out yesterday, a little after school. Kory called Xavier, and I called Koma, and I guess before she could tell him, they got in a fight because she asked him where he was, and he completely flipped out on her. She went up on the roof and we couldn't get her down. And then Xavier came over at around midnight and she was still up there, and she still wouldn't come down. It was so dark; I thought for sure she'd fall climbing down. So I climbed up the storm drain, because her chickenshit boyfriend refused to, and brought her down. I took her up to bed and made her lay down, because she wouldn't eat or drink anything. Then, when I woke up this morning, she was gone, I've been searching everywhere for her. You know she was always closest to them, you know she's the baby…I know you guys don't talk anymore or whatever, but please…You were like part of the family. You ARE like part of the family. Try to help me…Koma left this morning, I don't know where she went either, but I know she'll be okay. Kory, I'm not so sure about." Ryan said all this rather fast, but Richard understood every word of it.

"Don't worry; you can count on me to help." Richard gave Ryan a reassuring smile, but he felt his spirits withering. The Anders had been his second family; he had always been welcome at their house. It was so hard to believe they were…gone. He felt tears welling up in his eyes for the first time in years, and had great difficulty holding them back. They turned around and walked silently back to the car, both looking at the ground before them.

"Ryan, are you going to be okay?" Richard asked, before they had gotten too far. He may not have been as close to his parents as Kory, but he was certainly extremely close himself. It was Koma who had always estranged herself from her family. Richard knew that although his friend was trying to be strong for Kory's sake, he was hurting a great deal as well.

"Well, I'm actually…" Ryan stopped short, intaking a short breath. Richard looked at him in alarm. "Oh God, Kory – "

Even more alarmed, Richard looked up and felt his heart stop. Kory lay in a heap next to the passenger door of Ryan's car; she had collapsed.

**Okay; finally I've updated! Review, please, and I promise the next update will come, soon, too! I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things – go easy on me!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow…Oh my goodness, it has literally been four years. I am so sorry for letting go of this story; it has always been on the back of my mind, but I'm in college now. And I barely have time to write for class, let alone for leisure, haha.. But I'm going to try and finish this story, because I have never been able to forget it. My writing style has drastically changed, I'm sorry for any discontinuity. I'm going to try and pick up where I left off but please bear with me if there's a major disconnect! Alright, I'm sure you don't want any more excuses… Let me get right to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.**

Tubes, white tables, and monitors swam before her vision. They danced in front of her eyes momentarily before giving way to darkness once more. The darkness remained unwavering for a long time. The next images to tiptoe before her eyes were faces – faces of the ones she loved.

Rachel, with a blank face – the only sign of any emotion a faint worry line above her lightly furrowed brows.

Ryan, face wet with tears – bending over his younger sister and stroking her hair, whispering to her that it was all going to be okay.

Victor, Roy, and Garfield, huddled together with concerned faces – holding her hands and doing their best to tell jokes and laugh through their pain.

Lastly, Richard, with his sunglasses on inside the hospital – leaning coolly against the doorframe of her hospital room, showing no visible hint of emotion.

These faces came and went in front of Kory's eyes – confusing her, saddening her, but moreso than anything, giving her a reason to fight against the drugs in her system that were working to keep her in this sleeplike stupor. . .

She came to with a start; where was she? How long had she been there? She tried to roll over to look at the clock on her bedside table, but gave a little moan when she found that her body was stiff and sore. Slowly, she lifted her head to look around, finding that she was not in her room. She was in what seemed to be a hospital room, surrounded by monitors and tubes full of clear fluid. Her first impulse was to scream, cry out, beg for the answers that continued to elude her.

Sense smacked into her with sickening force; her head swam momentarily as images, vivid images surfaced and threatened to swallow her whole. Her parents were dead. Her boyfriend had cheated on her with Babs. Koma had disappeared. Ryan…where was Ryan?

It took nearly all of her strength just to sit up. As she blinked back the stars clouding her vision, she slowly but purposefully swung her legs to the side of the bed, slowly lowering herself until she felt the cold linoleum under her bare feet.

Another deep breath to combat the exhaustion threatening to overtake her body.

Tears began to slide down her cheeks silently. Bent over, she took slow, steadying breaths to help clear her head. Once she had managed to regain a little of her energy, she ripped the tubes out of her arm and began her slow journey to the door.

…

Richard sat in the uncomfortable chair with his eyes closed; not that they were visible behind his dark shades, anyway. His head was resting on the wall behind him, his hands were folded in his lap. One foot tapped the floor impatiently. They were keeping her doped up; she was trying to fight her way back to consciousness, but the doctors had told Ryan countless times that it was better for Kory to be kept sedated for a while. She had gone into a state of shock; her body had turned on itself, completely and utterly exhausted. All of her energy had been spent and her brain had had no choice but to shut her body down to try and recuperate.

He had been trying to get the image of Kory crumpled on the parking lot asphalt out of his mind for days. After years of trying to convince himself that he hated her, and that he'd never speak to her again, his heart had still dropped to the bottom of his stomach when he saw Kory laying in a heap, lifeless and motionless, the blood draining from her face. He could not imagine a world in which Kory did not exist. And although the doctors, nurses, and even a couple members of the janitorial staff had assured him that Kory would be alright, Richard would not know a moment of relief until he saw Kory open her eyes for himself.

And as soon as she opened those bright green orbs, he would take her hand and tell her everything. He would come clean about his lingering feelings, and apologize for the cold shoulder he had given her over the years. He would assure her that he did not expect anything from her, but yearned for her friendship. He would not rest until they came to an agreement – they would find a way to be friends. And perhaps in time, she would come to share his feelings; but if not, he would promise her never to speak of his unrequited love, ever again.

Anything to keep her in his life. And he promised himself that once she was back in his life, he would never again allow anything to happen to her.

"Excuse me, miss?!" a nurse all but shouted as she ran past Richard in the small hospital hallway.

The sound of several pairs of footsteps rushing past him roused him quickly from his thoughts; he stood up and looked around for the destination of yet another three members of the hospital staff.

He quickly found it. Kory was lying on the floor just outside her room.

Richard didn't even give it a second thought before he was sprinting down the hall towards the girl he had just sworn to protect from harm. He reached her quickly, but was pushed back by the gaggle of nurses that had assembled around Kory; the doctor was giving curt instructions and Kory was carried quickly back into her room, the door shut behind her.

Richard leaned his forehead against the door, exhaling and inhaling in a fast-paced rhythm. When had he lost his breath? He had only had to sprint a few paces to get to Kory, and he was used to much more physical exertion than that.

No, Richard had concluded, he was not gasping for air due to the short sprint; he had just been holding his breath since he had realized that Kory was, yet again, in trouble.

"Rich, what is it? What happened?" a panicked Ryan asked from beside him. His hands were full of snacks and sodas; he had headed for the vending machines on the floor below them just minutes before all of the confusion took place. Richard immediately straightened up and ushered his friend back to the seats down the hall.

…..

Kory blinked her eyes open, to find herself in her hospital bed yet again. Only this time, she was not alone. Rachel sat beside her bed, sitting 'criss-cross-applesauce' in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs, reading a giant book of poetry and short stories written by Edgar Allen Poe. Poe was Rachel's favorite author, and Kory knew that whenever anything was bothering her, she escaped into Poe's dark world of fiction.

"Poe, huh? You must be really worried about me" Kory teased. She smiled satisfactorily when Rachel started.

"Geeze, Kor! You scared me half to death." Rachel glared at Kory, closing her book with a snap. She uncrossed her legs, planting her feet on the floor and leaning forward to study Kory's face closely. "How are you feeling? You've been giving the boys quite a scare."

Kory was pleased to find that it was easier to sit up this time around, although she still felt quite weak. "Oh yeah? Poor babies" she grunted as she struggled to get comfortable without wasting too much energy.

Rachel reached over and pressed a button that made the top half of Kory's bed rise to an upright position. Kory stopped struggling and gave her best friend a silent look of thanks, closing her eyes and trying to slow her breathing. Rachel studied her friend a moment longer before continuing.

"Oh yes. Roy has been doing double time on the track; running lap after lap to try and clear his head. He calls Ryan whenever he stops to take a water break, and has come in to check up on you every night. Garfield and Victor have been in and out of here several times. They'd be here right now, except yesterday they got in a huge fight in the hospital cafeteria about Gar's vegan lifestyle, and were banned from the hospital. But they've both texted me every hour or so, begging for updates on your condition. Ryan has been struggling to hold it together, barely talking and rarely eating. And Richard hasn't cracked a smile since they brought you here." Kory opened her eyes immediately.

"Richard? What the hell is he doing here?" her own harsh tone even surprised her, a little. She took a quick inventory of her emotions, finding that she wasn't angry – just shocked. Richard was the last person she ever expected to be waiting around her hospital room, concerned for her well-being. Maybe he just felt guilty. Yeah, that must be it.

"I'm not sure, Kory. But he hasn't been himself at all. No jokes, no arrogance, no checking his reflection in the mirror. He's barely spoken to any of us since you got here – he's had quiet conversations with Ryan, but other than that…" Rachel trailed off, watching her friend uncertainly. She wasn't sure what had gotten into the playboy, but he seemed to be extremely concerned about a certain beautiful redhead.

Rachel had always found Kory's and Richard's mutual dislike for each other mildly interesting. She had only seen the two exchange a handful of words, but there was always such vehemence in the way Kory held herself whenever Richard was mentioned – and it was worse when he was actually around. Rachel found Richard's constant disrespect of women and incurable self-absorption sickening; but Kory was not the type to write people off without good reason. So Rachel had always been a little fascinated by the way Kory acted around Richard. Why did he affect her so negatively?

As if she could hear Rachel's thoughts, Kory sat up a little straighter, looked her best friend in the eyes, and launched into the memory that she could never seem to completely put out of her mind.

…..

Richard looked at the pale girl who stood before him. She clutched a giant book of poetry to her chest, and stood with impeccable posture, her face absolutely void of any emotion. The two studied each other for a moment that seemed to last for hours; she broke the silence, raising one thin eyebrow only slightly as she spoke.

"You look tired. You should go home and rest." The pretty Goth turned to address Ryan, but was stopped when Richard responded just as coolly.

"I'm not leaving until I know she's okay."

Rachel turned, looking at him curiously. "She's awake. She's going to be fine." Richard surprised her by jumping out of his seat even faster than Ryan. Both boys quickly made their way to Kory's hospital room, but Rachel stopped them both by calling out.

"Wait." Reluctantly, the two attractive boys turned back to face her. She looked at both of them, her dark eyes moving back and forth between the two handsome faces. "She wants to see Ryan. Richard, I think it would be best if you let them have a moment. She's pretty upset about…" A hard lump formed in Rachel's throat, forcing her to swallow back tears before continuing. The Anders had always been so kind to her; especially when her parents were going through their rocky, messy divorce. Forcing the sadness from her mind, she simply finished "she wants to talk to Ryan".

The two boys looked at each other. Richard gave a slight nod, Ryan punched him lightly on the arm before quickly closing the distance between him and his baby sister. Richard stood uncertainly a moment before making to return to his seat. Rachel blocked his way.

"Excuse me." Richard said coldly. He had never had a problem with Rachel Roth; she had stood by Kory during many cold exchanges, but he had never fought directly with the mysterious girl. In fact, he had barely spoken three words to her before Kory's accident. So he was slightly confused as to why he got the distinct impression that she now had a problem with him.

"Listen Grayson, I've never been your biggest fan, but I've never had a problem with you, either. I don't mean any disrespect, but I think it might be best for Kory if you left now."

Richard didn't respond. Rachel steeled herself for the smart-ass response she thought was surely on its way, but it never came. Instead, Richard plopped himself down in a nearby hospital chair and put his head in his hands. Startled, and not particularly good with comforting those who she was borderline indifferent to, she stood rooted to the spot. When Richard didn't move for several minutes, she cleared her throat.

"Ahem…Richard?" She began uncertainly. Richard raised his head, rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses.

"I get it, Roth – uhh, Rachel. I understand. I just wanted to make sure she's alright." Richard looked up at the girl who stood before him, and even behind his glasses she could see his genuine concern for her best friend. Confused and a little disconcerted, she took a second before responding gently.

"I promise she's going to be okay. She's completely conscious, responding well to all of their tests, and she will probably be discharged tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon at the latest." She paused, studying the worry etched into his face. "Go home, get some rest. She's taken care of."

Nodding mutely, Richard rose and walked past her down the hall. As she watched him go, Rachel felt sure that there was more to the story than Kory knew. It amazed her that after all these years, someone as kind-hearted and forgiving Kory was still holding so tightly to her grudge. But then again, she reasoned, having your heart broken so harshly by your first love is a tough thing to let go of. Especially when you have to see him gallivanting with random girls day in and day out. Whether Kory knew it or not, it wasn't anger that was keeping her from forgiving the heir to Wayne Industries; it was the deeply-rooted hurt that only true heartbreak could cause.

…

Richard sat numbly in his car, staring out of the windshield and blinking back the tears that hadn't fallen since he was a small child, crying over the parents that he could now barely remember.

He guessed he should have expected it. Who had he been fooling? Kory was not going to just let Richard stroll back into her life. He should have known better than to think they could be friends after everything that had – and even more importantly, everything that hadn't – happened between them. He was in love with Kory Anders, and she wanted nothing to do with him.

And as heart-breaking as that fact was, he drew an odd sort of strength from this newfound understanding. He had finally forgiven her for breaking his heart so long ago, because when it came down to it, he just wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to find happiness – no matter what that meant.

He had to protect her, to keep her safe from harm and wanted to see her heal more than anything in this world. And if he had to keep his distance from her to do so, he would. As long as Kory was okay, he would find a way to carry on.

From this moment on, he understood that he would make it his greatest mission to keep Kory safe, happy, and healthy. He would protect her from a distance, look out for her from afar. And as he started his car and made his way towards the parking lot exit, he felt an odd sense of relief in knowing that she would definitely be safe, because he would make sure of it.

…

Slade Wilson reclined in his seat, tapping the arm of his chair pensively. Three people sat in front of him…well, technically there were four, if you counted –

"Daddy! I'm hungry…when are we gonna be done with this boring business meeting thingy?" Kitten whined, tugging at her father's sleeve and eying Slade nervously. Slade's eye twitched perceptibly. She had to be the most annoying person on the face of the earth.

"S-soon, honey." Keith Moth quibbled nervously. Slade shook his head. That man had no backbone; why had he ever agreed to go into business with him?

Slade surveyed the other two people in the room. The stunning redhead crossed her legs, smiling easily at him from the other side of the table. She leaned back in her chair, managing to flash even more pale thigh from beneath her short skirt. She bobbed her ankle and tapped her nails on the table, as if to say 'I'm waiting for an answer'.

Slade almost smiled; Babs knew how to get what she wanted – unfortunately for her, he was not prone to the weaknesses of other men. When it came to business transactions, he always kept a clear head, no matter what distractions danced, or in this case, showcased their lack of class and self-respect, in front of him. He turned his attention to the last person in the room.

And found Xavier Red staring back at him. The two exchanged a look of mutual distrust. Finally, Slade's face broke into a small smile.

"I'm in."

**Hopefully this was a good start? Not too terribly exciting, but I promise I need to set some things up, and also get myself back into the swing of the story. Reviews would be nice! Not that I deserve them after leaving you hanging for four years… Lol.**


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